Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, March 15, 1943, Denton, Texas, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as front man for Sly and the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Sly and the Family Stone made some of the most creative records of the late 1960s and early 1970s, starting with the Earth-shaking grooves of “Dance to the Music.” He gave us the phrase “different strokes for different folks,” and he knocked out songs like “Family Affair” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)” that were socially conscious and great fun at the same time.
For the story of Sly, from Denton to Obama’s Inaugural Ball and beyond, read my authorized biography, “I Want to Take You Higher: The LIfe and Times of Sly & the Family Stone” (Backbeat Books, 2008).